PROGRAM

Tuesday 1^st   

18:00-20:00      Welcome dinner at a local restaurant

                           Hosted by Mr. Simo Pokki (founder of VisitEDUfinn)                                                        

Wednesday 2^nd

8:00-12:00        Kindergarten (1-5y) or pre-primary visit (6y), incl. lunch*

12:30-14:00      Finnish Early Years Education -workshop, Ms. Piia Roos (PhD, pedagogical expert)

Evening            Optional cultural program with educational touch, ask about options from info@visitedufinn.com

                           Helsinki new central library Oodi

                           A flagship library for a nation of booklovers opened its doors in 2018.

                           HKI -coctail! Breathtakingly beautiful 4D cinema experience flies you over Helsinki

Thursday 3^rd           

8:00-12:00        Kindergarten (1-5y) or pre-primary visit (6y), incl. lunch*

12:30-15:00      Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, World Heritage Site -tour and a Secrets of Suomelinna fortress history -pedagogical workshop

Friday 4^th                 

9:00-15:00        Finnish Early Years Education -conference

                           Keynote presentations by the top Finnish early years experts

* Departure in the morning from Senaatintori (Senate Square), in front of Statue of Alexander II.

IMPORTANT! If there are differences between the brochure and the website, you can count on the website as it has updated information.

FINNISH EXPERTS

PIIA ROOS

Piia Roos (PhD, Teacher of early years) has over 10 years of experience as a teacher and a leader in Finnish child care centers. For the past 10 years she worked as a teacher in vocational collage for practical nurses majoring in early childhood education. Now Ms. Roos works as a lecturer and consult through her own company (www.piiaroos.fi).  In addition, she is a partner in VisitEDUfinn Ltd. Her special interests are children’s perspective and participation. 

JANNIINA VLASOV

Janniina Vlasov (PhD, Teacher of early years) works as a senior advisor at Finnish Education Evaluation Centre. She’s an advocate for better early childhood education and care, both nationally and internationally.

EEVA HUJALA

Eeva Hujala (Professor Emerita)  During her career Ms. Hujala has been teaching and researching in many Finnish universities as well as in universities abroad. Her expertise focuses on leadership, development of pedagogical practices and quality management in early childhood education.

LINDA NURHONEN

Linda Nurhonen (M.A., Teacher of early years) has over 10 years of experience as a teacher in early childhood education. Her special interests are early music education, empathy and compassion. She is currently working for University of Helsinki on a project titled Expanding circles of empathy and compassion, funded by Finnish National Agency for Education.

JENNI SALMINEN

Jenni Salminen (PhD, Teacher of early years) is a post doctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä. She is currently working in VUOKKO follow-up study (2018–2021), funded by the Academy of Finland. Her research focuses on exploring the effects of teacher-child interactions and pedagogical practices on child’s development and learning in early childhood education and care settings.

ELINA KATAJA

Elina Kataja (M.Ed., Teacher of early years) works as a coordinator in Early childhood education in the city of Hämeenlinna. She also works as an educator and she is concentrated especially in participation as a heart of the National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care.

EMMA KURENLAHTI

Emma Kurenlahti (M.Ed., Teacher of early years) is interested in the research of compassion, structural violence, moral education and environmental education. She is currently working for The University of Helsinki in a project titled Expanding Circles of Empathy and Compassion in Early Childhood Education. She is also the president of Foundation of Environmental Education, FEE Finland.

SOCIAL PROGRAM

Tuesday 1^st   

18:00-20:00      Welcome dinner at a local restaurant

                           Hosted by Mr. Simo Pokki (founder of VisitEDUfinn)

Thursday 3^rd           

12:30-15:00      Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, World Heritage Site -tour and a Secrets of Suomelinna fortress history -pedagogical workshop

A Unesco World Heritage Site, Suomenlinna sea fortress is one of the most popular attractions in Finland for a reason. Suomenlinna was shaped by three historic eras when it helped to defend first Sweden, then Russia and ultimately Finland. With its museums, events and restaurants Suomenlinna offers a unique experience for visitors of all ages. 

TOP ACTIVITIES AND SITES IN HELSINKI

1. Helsinki City Museum

 2. Oodi, Helsinki Central Library

Oodi is Helsinki’s new Central Library and a living meeting place in the city centre on the Kansalaistori Square. Oodi is a venue for events, a house of reading and a diverse urban experience. It will provide its users with knowledge, new skills and stories, and will be an easy place to access for learning, story immersion, work and relaxation. Oodi is a library of a new era, a living and functional meeting place open for all.

3. Löyly

Public sauna and restaurant complex in Hernesaari district on the southern tip of Helsinki. The complex includes a traditional Finnish smoke sauna, two other wood-heated saunas, a year-round terrace and a restaurant. It is possible to take a swim in the sea, also in winter. There are separate changing rooms and shower facilities for men and women but as the saunas and other public areas are mixed, this means that customers are respectfully asked that swimming costumes are worn at all times.

4. Flying Cinema Tour of Helsinki

This breathtakingly beautiful virtual cinema experience takes you around and inside Helsinki’s most interesting landmarks, without worries about the weather or distance. Soar over Suomenlinna Sea Fortress and dive into the catacombs, hover above the altar at the Helsinki Rock Church and enjoy the speed of Finnish lakeside roads.

5. Temppelinaukio Rock Church

Excavated directly into solid rock, the Temppeliaukio church is situated in the heart of Helsinki, at the end of Fredrikinkatu. Because of its special architecture, the church, completed in 1969, is one of the main attractions in Helsinki. The church hall is covered with a dome, lined with copper and supported on the rock walls by reinforced concrete beams. The interior walls are of rugged rock and rubble wall. Before noon, the light spreads from the row of windows surrounding the roof periphery to the altar wall, where an ice-age crevice serves as the altarpiece. Due to its excellent acoustics the church is a popular venue for concerts.

6. Senate Square

The Senate Square and its surroundings form a unique and cohesive example of Neoclassical architecture. The square is dominated by four buildings designed by Carl Ludvig Engel (1778-1840): Helsinki Cathedral, the Government Palace, the main building of the University of Helsinki and the National Library of Finland. A statue of Alexander II (1894) stands in the middle of the Senate Square. Helsinki Cathedral is arguably Finland’s most famous and photographed building. The oldest stone building in Helsinki is the Sederholm House located on the southeast corner of the square. Today the building hosts the Helsinki City Museum. The Esplanade park and the Market Square are just a block away. The Senate Square also hosts a sound installation called the Sound of the Senate Square. It is a modern version of the European glockenspiel and can be heard every day at 17:49 as it travels from one building to the next. The composition runs for 5 minutes 18 seconds and is composed by Harri Viitanen and Jyrki Alakuijala.

READ MORE AND SEE THE MAP TO FIND ALL THE SITES

Helsinki

Helsinki was founded in 1550 and became capital of Finland in 1812. Helsinki pulls off the trick of being something of an international metropolis while still retaining a small-town feel. Helsinki’s current population is about 604,380, but the Greater Helsinki region including neighboring cities has a population of 1.5 million. Helsinki is a beautiful seaside city that offers lots of interesting sites and activities to discover.

Taxi

Finnish taxis are reliable and accept all the major credit cards.